The Boy With the Tinsel Halo
by Cora Clavia
Summary: BB. Parker and Booth decide to bring a little Christmas to Bones. Festive, seasonal, fluffy oneshot. Give it a chance.


**The Boy With the Tinsel Halo**

**Summary:** BB. Parker and Booth decide to bring a little Christmas to Bones. Festive, seasonal, fluffy oneshot. Give it a chance.

**Rating:** Like K+. Seriously. It's Christmas.

**Disclaimer:** I really just want to adopt little Parker . . . awwww! . . . but anyway, I don't own the show. No matter how much I love it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Wong Foo's was comfortably bustling with lively activity, but there was always room for the squints. Only Angela and Temperance were left, and Angela was about to leave, when she glanced over at the door, and her smile widened. "Merry Christmas, Booth!"

He was carrying a small angel. Or, more accurately, a little blonde boy dressed in a white gown over his pants and shirt, mittens and scarf, silver cardboard wings stuck securely to his back, and a tinsel halo held up by white pipe cleaners. Brennan smiled. It was Parker.

Booth glanced down at the little angel. "Can you say 'Merry Christmas' to Angela, Bub?"

Parker squirmed in his dad's arms, looking at Angela with a shy smile. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Parker." Angela buttoned up her coat and started digging for her keys. "I'm heading out. You'll be okay with the angel and his dad?"

Bren smiled wryly. "I'm fine."

With a hug, Angela left. Booth brought Parker over to Brennan. "Mind if we join you?"

"Of course not." Booth settled his son on the stool between them, and then sat down himself. Parker regarded the woman next to him with wide eyes.

"Are you Doctor Brennan?"

Startled, Bren looked down at him. "Yes. You're Parker, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"We just came from his Christmas play." Booth beamed with fatherly pride. "Tell Dr. Brennan what you did, Parker."

Parker grinned, shyness forgotten as he beamed up at Bren. "I was an angel! I got to tell the shepherds that Jesus is born!"

"That's wonderful," she smiled gently. It wasn't her thing, but she had to admit that he looked very cute in his costume. And he had a smaller, but just as potent, version of his father's smile that was alarmingly effective, even at age five. Of course, his father's smile was just as alarmingly effective.

"Parker wants to give you something. Go ahead, Bub." Booth nudged his son, handing him a small wrapped box from his pocket.

Parker squirmed nervously and looked up at Brennan, offering her the box with both hands. "Here you go."

"Oh - well, thank you." A little surprised, she nevertheless took the box.

"Open it!" Parker was clearly very excited. So with a glance at her partner, she smiled and carefully pulled off the blue ribbons and gold paper, revealing a little box.

"Go ahead, open it! It's inside." The little boy was almost bouncing with attention, his halo wobbling precariously.

She pulled the lid off and looked inside, to find a pair of earrings. She pulled one out, examining it. Clearly handmade; simple hooks and a few beads on string. She smiled. "Thank you, Parker."

"I made them in art class," he explained seriously. "Daddy says you don't have a family, and I thought you probably don't get any presents, so when we made presents in art class at school, I made these for you."

Her eyes suddenly began to sting. He'd actually thought of her, and he made her present himself. And he was right. Her family was gone. Swallowing, she tried futilely to blink back the tears as she gathered Parker into a tight hug. "Thank you, Parker. They're beautiful." A few stray tears had escaped her eyes, but the little angel didn't seem to notice.

His father did, though. The look in her eyes had been all he'd hoped for, and when she hugged Parker, he saw the tears trickle down her cheeks. Stepping forward, Booth put his arms around both of them to form a giant bear hug.

"Thank you, Seely," she whispered.

"You're welcome, Temperance," he whispered back.

"Daddy, you're squishing my wings," Parker protested softly. Wordlessly, Booth loosened his arm, letting the boy escape before wrapping it around Bren again. Sid, one eye on them as always, caught the little boy's attention over at the counter to give the adults a bit of privacy. They didn't seem to notice, as Bren looked up at Booth.

"That was so kind of you - and him -"

"I meant it when I said you have a family, Bones," he replied, reaching up to catch the tears trickling down her face. "Parker did it all on his own. He came to me and asked if he could give them to you so you could have a Christmas."

"I was going to spend Christmas with Russ," she admitted. "For the first time in fifteen years. But now that he's gone, I wasn't going to do anything."

Booth rubbed her shoulder gently. "I'm so sorry, Bones. I know the timing of all of this really sucks." She smiled ruefully. "Why don't you spend Christmas with us? Come to dinner on Christmas Eve."

"Booth, I wouldn't want to impose - "

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want you to come. Parker?" The little boy looked up from his milk. "Would you like it if Dr. Brennan celebrated Christmas with you and me?"

Parker's face lit up in a way that could only be called - well, angelic. "Yessss! Please, Dr. Brennan? Please please please?" He presented her with his most charming, innocent smile, the halo and wings only adding to its appeal. Bren looked back at her partner, who mimicked his son.

"Yeah, Bones, please?"

She closed her eyes and laughed. "All right. I'll come."

"Yay!" Parker hopped down from his perch and Tempe was treated to the experience of a five-year-old angel hugging her knees enthusiastically. "We'll have so much fun!"

Surprising even herself, Bren reached down and picked him up, settling him on her hip. "I know we will."

"Won't we, Daddy?" Parker wriggled with excitement at the thought that not only did he get to open presents and decorate a tree with Daddy, but now Daddy's pretty partner-friend was coming too.

"Of course. Maybe you can teach Dr. Brennan how to play Mario, huh pal?"

Her oblivious look was reward enough as Parker immediately took to the idea. Suddenly Booth happened to glance up.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Sid looked over and grinned. "Well, golly gee whiz, I wonder who put that there. Considering you two _always_ sit in those exact seats."

Booth shot him a death glare as Parker looked up. "Is that mistletoe, Daddy?"

"Yeah, it is."

Unabashedly, Parker leaned over and planted a kiss on Tempe's cheek. She looked a little startled, but took it in stride and kissed him back.

He reached out instinctively for his father, who kissed his cheek too. Then he innocently asked why Daddy hadn't kissed Dr. Brennan.

Her cheeks went scarlet, and she glanced at Booth shyly before setting Parker back down on his feet. Booth was a little taken aback, and suddenly it hit him - she was _letting_ him kiss her. God bless Parker. If not for the boy's urging, she would undoubtedly caused him immediate and extreme pain in unmentionable areas, Christmas or no, had he dared to try it.

But Parker was there, and he expected it, and something about the earrings and Parker's cuteness and Booth's kindness had softened her, and consequently she didn't protest as he gently tipped up her chin before kissing her on the lips.

She almost shivered. No one kissed like this. It was soft and gentle and warm and she had never felt so _loved_. No one had made her feel so precious in a long time. And . . . maybe it was better than she'd thought.

In light of the fact that they were being watched by a five-year-old, Booth ended it fairly quickly, squeezing her hand gently as he pulled away. Bren was looking at him, her eyes wide, her face stunned and bright and lovely. And she smiled. And he knew it was all right.

Parker, oblivious to anything but the fact that Daddy had observed the proper Christmas traditions, was now enthralled by the appearance of dinner and proceeded to do it justice. Booth and Brennan spent the rest of the meal in companionable discussion, occasionally punctuated by outbursts from Parker when he wanted to add something.

Finally dinner ended. Sid came round to help Parker wash his face and pull on his mittens, and Booth took the opportunity to turn back to Brennan.

"Thank you for agreeing to come Christmas Eve. He's excited."

She smiled at the sight of Parker struggling with his wings, and glanced up at Booth. "Thank you for the invitation. I was afraid I'd be alone again this year." After looking forward to seeing Russ, she had been crushed at he prospect of another lonely Christmas.

Booth stood and held out her coat. She bit back a chuckle at his sudden outburst of chivalry, letting him help her on with it. "I'll call when I know what time we're eating. Still not sure yet."

She nodded, her cheeks faintly pink. "You _do_ know we're standing under the mistletoe again, right?"

"That was my sole intention in helping you with your coat," he replied, before pulling her close for another kiss, this one a little more daring than the first, leaving her flushed and smiling as he let her go.

Parker was just reaching up to hug Sid good-bye, and hadn't seen a thing. Booth finally gathered him up and headed out the door. "Good-bye, Dr. Brennan!" he called, waving.

"Good-bye, Parker," she replied. "Merry Christmas. And thank you."

"See you, Bones," Booth murmured with a smile, before the door closed behind him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Author's Note:** FOX just re-ran The Man in the Fallout Shelter last night, and I was re-swept with "Aaaaaawww!!!" at how adorable little Parker Booth is. So I wanted to write something with him in it. Just because he's SO cute.

And it's been proven that offspring make men more attractive. My orchestra conductor is an attractive man, and one day he had his 9-year-old son come into rehearsal and play the Mario Brothers theme on piano in front of the whole orchestra, and later the 2nd chair violinist commented, "Dr. X is so much hotter now." Aaaand . . . I admit that I would have to agree with her . . .

coughIloveBoothcough

Merry Christmas. xoxoxoxoxoxox

- CC


End file.
